Marijuana is getting high attention -- legalization near?

No, it isn't a flashback from my '60 days. I've carefully perused the dates on a bunch of marijuana-related stories, and they're all recent.

Something is happening here, particularly in the western reaches of the United States, and I don't know what it is. (To paraphrase an old friend.) But it sure seems like the times they are a-changin'.

Evidence...

Oregon's Governor is about to sign a bill that will legalize the industrial production of hemp.

Oregon is on the verge of becoming the first Western state to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp... Oregon will then become the seventh state to allow farmers to grow hemp, even though the federal government says it's still an illegal crop.

Plans are being laid to place a citizen initiative legalizing marijuana on Oregon's 2010 ballot.

If they can gather 87,000 signatures to put it on the ballot, and voters then approved the initiative, the act would set up the Oregon Cannabis Control Commission. The new agency would sell pot to buyers 21 and over, with 90 percent of the profit going to the state’s general fund and 10 percent for drug treatment.

Yesterday the Associated Press ran a lengthy story about California's marijuana "green rush."

Marijuana has transformed California. Since the state became the first to legalize the drug for medicinal use, the weed the federal government puts in the same category as heroin and cocaine has become a major economic force.

No longer relegated to the underground, pot in California these days props up local economies, mints millionaires and feeds a thriving industry of startups designed to grow, market and distribute the drug.

A few days ago a New York Times article, "Marijuana is Gateway Drug for Two Debates," spoke of the push for legalization and the concern about negative effects of today's more powerful pot.

The drug cannot lead to fatal overdose and its hazards pale in comparison with those of alcohol. But at the same time, marijuana can be up to five times more potent than the cannabis of the 1970s, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Thanks to Jack Bog's blog, I learned that there's an iPhone app for finding marijuana.

The purpose of the app is to help locate legal medical marijuana in states and locations where it can be found. Will this app lead thousands of iPhone users to cannabis, or is it a tool of a movement in favor of marijuana legalization? The answer, surprisingly, is both.

This month Portland's Willamette Week had a cover page story, "Just Say Now," about the fight to legalize marijuana.

Nearly every day offers another object lesson in the merits of marijuana reform. And the American people seem to be noticing. At least four polls in the past three months have shown a greater uptick in the public’s receptiveness to legalization than ever before.

Going back in time to a year ago, a fascinating article in The New Yorker described how medical marijuana is transforming the California pot industry.

Only a small percentage of consumer marijuana sales in California occur within the medical-marijuana market. Even so, the dispensaries, by serving as a gold standard for producers and consumers, have fuelled the popularity of high-end strains in much the same way that the popularity of the Whole Foods grocery chain has brought heirloom lettuce to ordinary supermarkets.

And -- no big surprise -- there's a web site, WeBeHigh, that bills itself as: Worldwide Marijuana Travel Guide, Marijuana Prices, Spots & Legalization Status

I checked out Portland, Oregon. The "smoking tolerance level" approaches Virtually Legal status.

Portland police are very forgiving toward marijuana smokers, and do not look for them. In fact, there are some areas in Portland (see “spots”) where it is very common to smoke pot in public.

Comments

[Dave S]

Two bills in Congress - the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act and the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act - could move federal marijuana policy two big steps forward. It's time to end the government's senseless and costly war on suffering patients and nonviolent marijuana users.

Tell your members of Congress to support a better marijuana policy:

http://tinyurl.com/decriminalizeMJ

[Panama Red]

I don't think possesion and use of marijuana should be a criminal issue, but it needs some form of regulation. It's bad for kids' developing brains and people shouldn't drive under the influence.

It turns some people into brain-dead slackers and others become schizo or paranoid. But that's their business if they're adults. Many can use it sensibly without much harm or even benefit if they have certain illnesses. It's up to you to regulate your personal behavior. I mean, you can also ruin your life with excessive doughnut use. Obesity is a growing problem and a societal issue.

I smoked some modern weed back in the nineties after about a three decade hiatus. It turned me into a slack-jawed lump mesmerized by whatever phenomena came into awareness. It was kick-ass strong. People should not drive on this stuff.

My main issue is I don't like the idea of another easily accessible drug for people to mess up with which we know they will given the chance. That's their business like I said, but it becomes my business if they T-bone me in an intersection because they spaced out. I do like the idea of taking criminals out of the marijuana business. Let the government tax it and use the revenue to fund obesity clinics or doughnut-eaters anonymous or something.

I would suggest using the revenue to pay down debt, but that would be too sensible and obvious a choice for government.